Erie County,
Pennsylvania

History of
Erie County, Pennsylvania 1884

by Samuel P. Bates,

Part
III Chapter III - Municipal Government

On the 29th of
March, 1805, the General Assembly passed an act erecting the first section
of Erie into a borough, and all electors who had resided in the town six
months prior to each election were requested to meet annually, on the
first Monday in May, for the purpose of electing borough officers. Borough
and Town Council was a body corporate with power to hold lands not
exceeding in value $3,000 per annum, and a penalty was attached for
refusing or neglecting to serve as Burgess or a member of the Council. The
same act provided for the reservation of certain lots granted for churches
and burial grounds. On the 5th of May, 1806, the first election was held
under this act, and resulted as follows: John C. Wallace, Burgess; Judah
Colt, Rufus S. Reed, George Buehler, Robert Hays, George Schantz, Town
Council; Robert Irwin, High Constable. At the first meeting of the
Council, the following officers were chosen: James E. Herron, Town Clerk;
Thomas Forster, William Wallace and James Baird, Street Commissioners;
William Bell, Treasurer.

The following is a list of the city officials of Erie, from its
incorporation April 14, 1851, up to the present, the Mayor acting as
President of the Select Council the first nine years of its history:

Health Officer-- Dr. E. W. Germer has filled this position from
1872 up to the present time.
Superintendents of Streets and Sidewalks-- 1879-80, Matthias Detzel;
1881-82, John Warren; 1883, James Leask.

Water Works
The first water works in Erie were a small affair consisting merely of a
line of wooden pipes, or "pump logs," laid to convey the water
into town by gravitation, and distribute it to several small public
reservoirs provided for fire purposes and to a very small number of
private patrons, the water being obtained from a large spring on the Reed
farm or "Berst place," just south of the Buffalo road and west
of Parade street. These works, constructed in 1841, though insignificant
in comparison with those of to-day, were useful in their time, but were
discontinued upon the construction of the present ones. By the legislative
act, approved March 16, 1865, John W. Shannon with certain other citizens
of Erie were incorporated under the title of the "Erie Water and Gas
Company," and soon afterward organized for business. The authorized
capital was $100,000, but the company was privileged to increase its
capital to any amount necessary to build and maintain water and gas works
at Erie.

On the 16th of July, 1866, the City Councils appointed a committee to
procure the services of a competent engineer "to examine and report
to the Councils plans for both sewerage and water." H. P. M.
Birkinbine, of Philadelphia, Penn., was secured, and made a report
February 23, 1867, which put the cost of erecting water works at $350,000,
the water to be taken from the bay of Presque Isle.

On the 11th of March, 1867, the Councils directed the Mayor to make a
contract with the "Erie Water and Gas Company," to supply the
city with water for twenty years, beginning July 1, 1868, or as soon
thereafter as the works could be completed, but obliging said company to
finish the same within two years from the date of contract. The city
agreed to pay an annual rent of $9,000 for fifty fire plugs, but said
Water and Gas Company was not to commence the erection of the works for
one year from the date of contract, while the city reserved the right of
erecting its own water works provided it began their construction within
the year, said contract to be void in such case. It also reserved the
right of purchasing any works that might be erected by this company, at
any time within five years from date of contract. Nothing came of this
arrangement, as the city subsequently concluded to erect its own water
works.

Much opposition was aroused against the proposed improvement, and the
assertion freely made that besides the works being too expensive the water
from the bay was unfit for domestic uses, because the bay was the natural
reservoir for the filth and sewerage of the city. Many advocated bringing
the water from Lake Pleasant, or from the springs and head-waters of the
streams south of Erie. The majority, however, were in favor of erecting
the works on the bay, and an act was procured and approved April 4, 1867,
providing for the appointment of three "Water Commissioners" to
control the erection, maintenance and management of water works in Erie,
the city to furnish money for said Commissioners to carry out the proposed
improvement. Under this act, William L. Scott, Henry Rawle and William W.
Reed were appointed by the court, and organized June 14, 1867. Mr.
Birkinbine was selected by the court, and organized June 14, 1867. Mr.
Birkinbine was selected as the engineer to plan and superintend the
construction of the works. After examining the plans used in several
cities, the Commissioners adopted in July that in operation in Detroit,
Mich. but in September it was discarded in favor of the present plan
devised and recommended by Mr. Birkinbine.

The location of the stand-pipe at the foot of Chestnut street was agreed
upon in November, 1867, and a contract was made for the engines the same
month, with the West Engine Company, of Norristown, Penn. In December,
1867, the contract for the stand-pipe was given to the Erie City Iron
Works; early in 1868, John M. Kuhn was awarded the erection of the
buildings and stand pipe tower, while at the same time Capt. James Dunlap
was given the crib-work. The work began April 7, 1868, and progressed
steadily and rapidly. In May, 1868, William L. Scott was succeeded as
Water Commissioner by John C. Selden. At the close of 1868, one engine
began pumping, and by the end of 1869 the works were completed, consisting
of an engine house, a boiler house, stand pipe tower, smoke stack,
crib-work, and machinery, at a total cost of about $675,000.

The engine house is a solid brick structure, with stone foundation, 30x35
feet square and sixty-five feet in height, surmounted by an octagonal
turret fourteen feet high. The boiler house is 50x60 feet square and
twelve feet high; smoke-stack fourteen feet square at the bottom and 100
feet in height, with a draft of twenty-five feet. The stand-pipe tower,
built to inclose the stand-pipe, is octagonal in shape. Forty-five feet
above its foundation, throughout which distance the tower is brick, a belt
of stone five feet high is placed; thence upward it is a circular brick
tower. Its total height is 217 feet, and its total elevation 237 feet
above the surface of the bay, while an additional sixteen feet has been
added to the stand-pipe since its erection, making it 253 feet above the
water level -- the highest stand-pipe in the world. A spiral stairway in
the interior ascends to the top of the tower, which is suitably decked and
inclosed by an iron railing. The visitor may here obtain the finest view
imaginable of the city, harbor and lake.

The works are operated by two "Cornish Bull" engines of the
finest make, driven by eight double-flue boilers. The pumping capacity of
these works is about 5,000,000 gallons daily, but at present one engine is
usually found sufficient for pumping purposes, the Commissioners wisely
saving the other to guard against accidents which might cut off the water
supply. The most marked feature of the Erie Water Works are their
completeness, solidity, and durability, combined with cheapness of
construction and efficiency, which is unquestionably due to the genius of
the accomplished engineer who planned and supervised the building of them,
as well as to the Water Commissioners in charge at the time, more
especially William W. Reed, whose whole time and attention was devoted to
the enterprise from the beginning of the works until their completion.

The reservoir located on Twenty-sixth street, between Chestnut and Cherry,
has a capacity of 33,000,000 gallons. In the fall of 1872, the Water
Commissioners purchased seven acres of land at that point, where they
constructed the reservoir, the bottom of which is 210 feet above the
surface of the bay, while the water is kept at an average depth of
twenty-five feet. At the present time the city has forty-three miles of
water mains, and 213 fire hydrants, which affords a first-class water
supply for all purposes. The water is taken from between two piers, at
about midway between the surface and the bottom of the bay, in a depth of
twelve feet; and December 31, 1882, there were 4,687 patrons on the books
of the department.

Since the works were finished, many improvements have been made, one of
the most important being the putting in of new boilers in 1880, their
removal further south in the building and the construction of a switch
railroad track running through the center of the building between the
engine room and the boilers, whereby car loads of coal are brought right
to the furnace doors, and all laborious handling and hauling done away
with. Up to 1883, no special effort was made to improve the grounds around
the water works, but the Commissioners in office this year began the work
of improvement, and have progressed so far as to complete the road down
the hill, also grade and sod the bank to a point half way between Chestnut
and Myrtle streets, the limit of their jurisdiction, and sod the lower
portion of the grounds. Trees have been planted all over the grounds,
under control of the department, while the whole has been laid out under a
general plan, in contemplation of a drive way being built along the bay
front of the city.

The following exhibit shows the amount of coal consumed, cost of coal,
water pumped, etc., from the construction of the works to the close of
1882:

YEARS

Tons Coal
Consumed

Cost of
Coal

Gallons of
Water
Pumped

Gallons
Raised
to the Reservoir
by one pound
of Coal

1868

59.1

$
309.61

-----

-----

1869

544.4

4,818.48

-----

-----

1870

1,064.5

5,159.10

246,648,960

-----

1871

1,422.7

7,117.00

279,368,495

168.45

1872

1,308.5

6,528.50

395,076,000

150.96

1873

1,672.5

8,412.65

384,062,415

114.81

1874

1,759.0

7,709.54

444,817,395

126.44

1875

1,836.4

8,657.61

531,005,475

145.57

1876

1,856.0

8,925.22

670,726,650

180.68

1877

2,456.6

8,509.33

660,981,810

135.74

1878

2,463.3

7,945.37

682,392,315

136.49

1879

2,628.1

7,428.92

807,800,400

153.68

1880

3,076.1

6,978.41

775,805,250

126.01

1881

3,430.3

6,517.58

975,640,934

142.20

1882

2,968.2

5,355.93

829,759,260

139.77

This exhibit shows
the amount of water rents collected each year since the commencement of
the works to the close of 1882:

Amount
Received

From January
1, 1869, to December 31, 1869

$4,264.47

From January
1, 1870, to December 31, 1870

9,237.30

From January
1, 1871, to December 31, 1871

18,138.08

From January
1, 1872, to December 31, 1872

21,652.68

From January
1, 1873, to December 31, 1873

25,560.40

From January
1, 1874, to December 31, 1874

27,938.90

From January
1, 1875, to December 31, 1875

29,639.38

From January
1, 1876, to December 31, 1876

31,048.76

From January
1, 1877, to December 31, 1877

32,276.57

From January
1, 1878, to December 31, 1878

29,636.01

From January
1, 1879, to December 31, 1879

33,343.20

From January
1, 1880, to December 31, 1880

37,385.00

From January
1, 1881, to December 31, 1881

40,385.87

From January
1, 1882, to December 31, 1882

43,818.73

-----------------

Total water
rents received

$384,380.35

Fire Department
The Active Fire Company, organized February 22, 1826, was the first effort
made in Erie toward protecting the property of the town against the fiery
element. The roll of membership included nearly all the grown male
residents of the borough, with R. S. Reed, President and Chief Engineer;
Daniel Dobbins, Second Engineer; E. D. Gunnison, Secretary; John Riddell,
treasurer. The company was first furnished with buckets, but subsequently
the town purchased a small fire engine, which did service for some years.
Other companies of later date were as follows: Red Jacket Fire Company No.
1, organized in 1837; Perry and Eagle Fire Companies, formed in 1839;
Mechanics No. 3, formed in 1844; Vulcan, formed in 1848; Phoenix Hook and
Ladder Company, formed in 1852; Parade Street Company, formed in 1861. The
city has had a fire organization with general officers since 1851, but for
the first ten years was not very effective.

The present fire protection of Erie consists of the following apparatus:
Steamer "Keystone," on Parade street, between Eleventh and
Twelfth, which has been in use for about twenty years, but has now no
company; Steamer No. 1, "D. T. Jones," First Ward Engine House
on Fifth street, between State and French, was purchased in March, 1878,
from the Silsby Manufacturing Company of Seneca Falls, N. Y.; Steamer No.
3, "William L. Scott," Third Ward, Peach street between
Thirteenth and Fourteenth, is also a Silsby engine, and was purchased in
June, 1882, each of these engines costing nearly $4,000. There is a hose
company located in each of the six wards, and the Hook and Ladder Company
No. 1, at the Peach Street Engine House, where there is a beautiful Hayes
truck which cost $3,000. The department has about 5,500 feet of hose, and
employs forty-eight men and thirteen horses; has fifteen miles of
telegraph wire in use, and thirty fire alarm stations. There is one hose
cart which has been in use about four years, and five new hose carriages
that arrived at Erie in September, 1883, and which cost $525 each. Six
brick engine houses are used by the department, the largest being the one
on Peach street, the headquarters of the chief.

The Erie Fire Department is governed by the following officers: Chief
Engineer, J. Adam Moser; First Assistant, William Schade; Second
Assistant, A. H. Conkey. The Board of Engineers is composed of the chief
and his assistants, the foreman of each hose company and hook and ladder
company, also the engineers of the steam fire engines. It meets at the
headquarters of the fire department, Third Ward Engine House, on the first
Sunday of each month. The furnishings are all first class, and the
efficiency of the department is recognized as second to none in
Northwestern Pennsylvania.

Markets
Wednesday and Saturday mornings are the regular vegetable and meat market
days in Erie. The farmers and hucksters line the east side of State street
from Twelfth to North Park Row, their wagons filled with all kinds of
market produce. Here they stand from 4 o'clock in the morning until 2
o'clock in the afternoon, the sidewalk crowded with buyers going from
wagon to wagon, selecting and dickering for what they want. During market
hours, the sidewalk is scarcely passable, so crowded is it with sellers
and purchasers. The market clerk goes the rounds collecting a small fee
from each stand, which is paid for the privilege of being allowed to sell
their produce inside the city limits, while a penalty is imposed for an
evasion of the law.

The hay market is on Twelfth between State and Peach streets, and the wood
market immediately east between State and French streets. There is also a
clerk of these markets, and a fee is charged each wagon for standing room.
The city possesses no market houses at the present time, but the vegetable
and meat market has become so objectionable to the State street merchants
that the day is not far distant when some other market-place away from the
business center will have to be selected by the city authorities.

Police
This department is well organized and under the charge of an efficient
head. It consists of seventeen officers and the chief, Thomas Crowley, the
whole force being equipped in suitable uniforms. The police headquarters
is a two-story frame building on the northeast corner of Seventh and Peach
streets, which is centrally located and kept in the neatest order. The
city is patrolled day and night, and so vigilant is the force that few
breaches of the peace escape detection; and its efficiency is a wholesome
check on evil-doers, as well as a vigorous antidote for crime.

Financial Exhibit
Statement of receipts and disbursements of the City Treasurer for the
fiscal year ending December 31, 1882:

The following is a
statement of the taxes levied for municipal purposes in the city of Erie
for 1883, together with the alterations made therein:

WARDS

Valuation

Farm land
valuation

Gross tax
at
16 1/2 mills

Gas tax

Water lot
tax

Farm land
abatement

Paved
street
abatement

Net tax

First

$ 2,164,980

$ 98,380

$ 35,182.33

$ 917.24

$114

$ 798.33

$ 893.89

$ 34,520.61

Second

2,592,183

83,260

42,123.93

1,288.00

-----

676.44

1,547.09

41,185.55

Third

3,518,936

146,990

57,185.34

1,676.08

-----

1,194.29

1,593.38

56,068.32

Fourth

2,798,220

39,235

45,471.08

1,080.04

$108

318.76

539.85

45,800.14

Fifth

963,024

335,606

15,648.61

388.55

-----

2,726.51

144.63

13,166.60

Sixth

1,061,954

167,855

17,256.70

1,010.28

-----

1,363.80

110.47

16,796.22

--------------------

----------------

--------------------

----------------

---------------

-----------------

--------------------

--------------------

Totals

$13,099,297

$871,326

$212,867.99

$6,360.19

$222

$7,079.13

$4,829.31

$207,537.44

The changes made in
duplicates as per statement thereof, make the net amount of the duplicates
to be charged to the receiver of taxes as follows: First Ward, $34,422.35;
Second Ward, $41,174.19; Third Ward, $56,098.39; Fourth Ward, $45,800.14;
Fifth Ward, $13,158.70; Sixth Ward, $16,796.22. Total, $207,449.99.